This is the first image of the British influencer who fell to his death while trying to climb the highest bridge in Spain without safety equipment for an Instagram trick.
Lewis Stevenson, 26, fell from the 630-foot Castilla La Mancha Bridge on Sunday morning after ignoring his family’s pleas to cancel the risky climb.
Speaking from his home in Derby, his grandfather Clifford Stevenson, 70, told MailOnline: “We all tried to talk him out of it.” We were always trying to talk him out of doing things, but that’s just the way he was.
‘He loved doing it, he always came out believing he would be fine. He did what he did for his own pleasure. “He didn’t receive money for it, he was an adventurer.”
Tributes to Lewis were led by his heartbroken girlfriend, Savannah Parker, who took to social media to express her grief over the tragedy and described her boyfriend’s death as “a nightmare”.
Lewis Stevenson, 26, (pictured) fell from the 630ft Castilla La Mancha Bridge on Sunday morning after ignoring his family’s pleas to cancel the dangerous climb.
His grandfather Clifford Stevenson, 70, said: “We all tried to talk him out of it.” We were always trying to talk him out of doing things, but that’s just the way he was.
The tribute to the late British influencer was led by his heartbroken girlfriend, Savannah Parker, who described Lewis’ death as a “nightmare.”
Parker wrote: ‘It’s 5am and I haven’t eaten or slept. Someone tell me this is a nightmare. I feel really bad about the fact that you’re not coming back. Please come back. Answer the phone.
Others involved in the high-risk sport of climbing structures without a safety harness expressed grief over Stevenson’s death.
Writing on Instagram, a friend who shared his passion for what is known as ‘rooftopping’ and goes by the name Louie_W1 wrote: ‘Meeting you has been one of the greatest privileges of my life.
‘And losing you is the greatest sadness of my life. No amount of words in a stupid Instagram post can describe how much I miss you.
‘You will always be the bravest, loving and funniest person I have ever met. I am proud of every building, every roof, every moment of our time together.
‘My best friend, my brother. Rest easy, we will meet again one day.’
Posting a photo of Stevenson sitting on a New York City skyscraper, another daredevil named Viliany wrote: “Over the past seven years you have introduced me to a new understanding of freedom, which has greatly changed my perspective on life, giving me guidance on my own creativity.” Always work by motivating and inspiring me through your own creative coherence.
‘I will be forever grateful for the opportunities you gave me and the people you introduced me to as well.
‘You have been a prominent figure for me for some time and your fearless mentality will remain with me for the rest of my life.
“It was a pleasure to be considered one of your friends, rest easy brother, I will see you in another life.”
Others involved in the high-risk sport of climbing structures without a safety harness expressed their sorrow online over Stevenson’s death.
A friend who also shares his passion for what is known as ‘rooftopping’ and goes by the name Louie_W1 wrote: ‘Meeting you has been one of the greatest privileges of my life.’
Stevenson showed off some of his rooftopping around the world on his Instagram page under the name expedition.
Among the photographs documented by Stevenson are dizzying photos of Stevenson atop a New York skyscraper and resting on a metal beam overlooking the skyline of London.
Other photos showed the daredevil hanging from a structure in Croatia and from the ceiling of a hotel in Mexico City.
One of his most recent climbing stunts, on October 3, was to the top of a stand at Nottingham Forest’s ground.
Authorities in Spain said Stevenson was accompanied by a 24-year-old friend. He was said to be shocked by the tragedy but is unlikely to face criminal charges.
The pair had climbed a quarter of the way up the 630-foot bridge when Stevenson lost control and fell.
Councilwoman Macarena Muñoz said access to the bridge was “totally prohibited” and said Stevenson’s body was found at 7:14 a.m. Sunday.
The Talavera de la Reina City Council confirms this in a statement: ‘The Councilor for Citizen Security, Macarena Muñoz, has confirmed the death of a young man after falling from the Castilla-La Mancha bridge.
“It was a 26-year-old Englishman who fell while climbing the aforementioned bridge, something that the councilor has made clear is totally prohibited and that we have reiterated on numerous occasions that cannot be done under any circumstances.”
Stevenson showed off some of his rooftopping around the world on his Instagram page under the name Expedition (pictured in London).
A local Spanish councilor confirmed that Lewis’s body was found at 7.14am on Sunday.
‘As we have been able to establish, they had come to Talavera to climb the bridge and create content for social networks, which has resulted in this unfortunate and sad outcome.’
“The judge and the forensic doctor have already authorized the removal of the body, which has been transferred to the funeral home.”
A spokesman for the National Police in Toledo, the province of which Talavera de la Reina is part, said: “It was about 40 or 50 meters high, approximately a quarter of the total height of the bridge, when it fell.
“The reason for his fall is unclear and will be investigated by a local court.”
A source close to the investigation said: “Both the dead man and his surviving partner were climbing without harnesses or any other protection.”
“A passing motorist raised the alarm.
“At first the other boy was in shock and couldn’t even speak. He’s obviously still quite traumatized but he’s no longer at the police station.
‘He is not going to be charged with any crime. If the local council decides to sanction you for doing something illegal it is their decision.’
Investigators are expected to investigate the possibility that bad weather played a role in what happened, as it is believed that it rained heavily in Talavera de la Reina before the tragedy, making everything slipperier than normal.
Lewis’ grieving girlfriend, Savannah, said she had been told he lost consciousness before falling to his death.
She said: ‘It didn’t just fall. He lost consciousness because he did not feel well. His friend he was with sent me his police statement.
“He told his friend he wasn’t feeling well and said, ‘Shall we go back down?’ Lewis said, ‘Give me a minute,’ and that’s when he blacked out and slipped.
‘I suspect he hadn’t eaten because he wouldn’t care if he was hungry or thirsty, he would do something.
According to the Spanish city council, Lewis and a companion had come to Talavera to climb the bridge and create content for social media before the unfortunate incident.
‘But I don’t know, since I’ve known him, he has never lost consciousness or fainted. I don’t know what happened, but that’s what his friend told me.
She said they had been together for most of the last 10 years and he was always embarking on another death-defying adventure.
“He’s been doing this kind of thing for years. We’ve known each other for 10 years and he’s been doing it for at least five of those years,” she said.
‘Every time he left I told him to be careful
‘As much as I worry, I don’t look into things because I worry enough and I just let it do its thing and it usually just comes back. This weekend he didn’t.
“It’s one thing to hear that he’s gone, but another thing is how tragic it happened.”
Savannah, 25, an office worker, said Lewis had traveled to Spain on Friday and was due to return home on Monday. She spoke to him for the last time the night before the tragedy.
‘We spoke at half past eleven and the last thing he said to me was: “Good night, I love you.”‘
‘He sent me a message at half past five to say “good morning” with three kisses. I didn’t see him until a quarter to eight.
Lewis’ grieving girlfriend (pictured), Savannah, said her friend told her he lost consciousness before falling to his death.
‘I thought I would just be trying to take a photo of the sunrise. I thought he must have stuck his arm out to take a photo and fallen, not that he passed out.
Savannah said she had gone with him to Malta last September.
‘On our last day, he convinced me to go with him to an abandoned building and I went with him, but I was very afraid because I don’t go up or do any of that.
“I said, ‘I don’t know how you do this all the time.’ I was really afraid of making a wrong move and that was it, but we did it.
‘I was anxious to leave because it was abandoned for a reason: it wasn’t safe.
“He was always doing things. It was hard to keep up. Last year he traveled to South America for eight months. It was what he loved to do.